LeeCRNP

Hi Benjamin It looks like you are probably done your fellowship by now. It would be great if you are willing to provide an update as to what you are doing now and how valuable you felt your experience as a fellow was. I read what you did post and found it interesting. Best wishes to you as you continue on in your career!! Laurie

I've been on AN since 1999. Hello to everyone!! ???

Although it has been quite a few years since I took the exam, I would highly recommend the Barkley course materials. At the time I took the exam, they did not have the online streaming videos so I ordered the CDs and listened closely, as well as going through the study guide. Here is the link: https://www.npcourses.com/product/adult-gerontology-acute-care-NP-online-streaming-course/ Best of luck to you! Laurie ?

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. I think it is great that there are nurses who feel comfortable doing med-surg, LTC, and many of the "non-traditional" specialties that nurses seem to eschew in favor of the "glamour" of ER or ICU. Before I became a nurse, I did prehospital (EMT). When I got to nursing school, I felt pretty comfortable dealing with patients as I had the experience of being in some emergent situations. As a nurse, I've done telemetry/stepdown and ICU and as an NP of 15 years, I've done cardiac, pulmonary, infectious disease and currently, hospice and palliative care. I love my patients but the traveling is tough. I do feel like I am helping my patients but I'm not sure I can continue the brutal traveling that is required of me in my current position. I guess my message is that everyone is different and has their own talents and interests and should pursue the path that they feel will give them the most fulfillment. That path may change over time and that is OK. God bless everyone of you who are on the front lines and caring for all our patients, whether they have become infected with COVID or not! Please take care of yourselves and your families!!

Lukewarm I know it's been quite some time since anyone replied to this thread but if you want another idea for learning policy, consider joining a local chapter of a nurse's association in your area (either ANA or a specialty group). Also, probably the state chapter for ANA might offer opportunities to be involved with a committee that looks at legislation that may affect nurses. I am an NP and have been a member of my state NP group's policy committee. As NRSKaren mentioned in a prior post, there are also various fellowships for health policy. I think the consideration period for a lot of them may be ending soon but they would start a new year in the fall. If you want more specific information, please feel free to PM me and I will share what information I have found. Good luck!! ? Laurie

In reference to the last sentence...yes, in their eyes we aren't "valuable" but if they didn't have us at all, they'd be up s*** creek!! ?

I currently work for a hospice/palliative care company and we do have marketers but to date (and I've only been there about 2.5 months) I have NEVER seen our marketers "fish" for patients as far as looking in their charts. They go to different facilities to educate the staff as to the differences between hospice and palliative care. It is left to the clinical staff (myself and my fellow NP) to evaluate patients on our palliative service and if they are appropriate for hospice, we then refer them. Having previously worked for a company that did house calls, I would say that if this "marketer" is looking in patient charts, that would be a red flag to me--as in a potential HIPAA violation. It's one thing if the NPs or MD refer appropriate patients for hospice eval but to have someone with no clinical background looking thru charts to find "hospice-appropriate" patients strikes me as very unethical, at the very least.

First, congrats to you, WinterWolf90, for completing your NP program!! As MikeFNPC advised, find out if your new city (Lubbock) has an NP group there (may be part of a statewide group). Additionally, AANP (the national NP organization) has job listings (you may have to join as a member to look at the job listings, though). Another site that has NP job listings is HealtheCareers.com. I personally feel I've had better luck with job searching by going to the website for the hospital/health care agency directly and looking at their job listings. I tend to think the listings are more up to date than if you use a site like indeed or Careerbuilder, etc. In any case, I wish you the best with your move and job search! Please come back to AN and let us know where you land!!

OP--I am sorry to hear you were sick at work. I don't think you handled things well but when you are sick, you are not always thinking clearly. I agree with Kooky Korky...I don't think you should get fired for this incident but you definitely need to be aware of the procedures to follow regarding who to call should this situation (or a similar one)arise again. I pray that your manager will show some mercy and not terminate you but if that's the case, I pray that you learn from this and when you are applying for the next job, you have the courage to say "I made a mistake, I learned from it and I will not let it happen ever again." Godspeed to you and please let us know how things turned out for you! I think everyone here hopes for the best for you!

(Reply to comment #9) Me too. A sad situation for everyone involved

I think everyone is different and if you truly have a passion for hospice care, you have nothing to lose by applying and if the hospice agency is interested, maybe they will bring you in for an interview. If you are lucky enough to get an interview, you need to ask good questions about what kind of orientation you will get, how long orientation will be, etc. That being said, if it doesn't work out at this time, consider volunteering for a hospice in your community as you work to gain the nursing skills needed to become a great hospice case manager. I can't think of any agency that would turn away a volunteer! As ohiomatka said above, another option would be to apply for a hospice/palliative care unit in an inpatient facility. Finally, if you have another semester of school, is there a way you can do a clinical rotation in hospice? Just a thought :) Best of luck to you whatever you decide!! Laurie

For those of you who are case managers for home hospice--if your company uses Relias for your online training, there is a module on case management that probably would be helpful.

A resource to consider is the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Home. Good luck and welcome to the hospice world! Laurie

Another resource to consider is the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association https://advancingexpertcare.org. Good luck and welcome to the hospice world! Laurie

My company uses HospiceSoft by Optima Healthcare Solutions. While it offers lots of space for narrative descriptions, it can be labor intensive at times.